PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Northrop Grumman shipyard worker who reportedly fell overboard while working on the USS Carl Vinson earlier today.

Coast Guard rescue crews onboard a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., a 25-foot foot search and rescue boat from Station Portsmouth and the Coast Guard Cutter Chock joined rescue crews from the Northrop Grumman shipyard and the Newport News Fire Departments in todays search.

“The decision to suspend a search is one of the most difficult choices that the Coast Guard has to make and it’s not a decision that we take lightly,” said Lt. Kevin Saunders, a member of Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads Response Department.

“We want to ensure that we have explored all available options for locating a missing person before we suspend a case,” said Saunders.

The Coast Guard began searching at approximately 8:30 a.m., after receiving notification that a Northrop Grumman shipyard worker had fallen overboard from the USS Carl Vinson.